Ornamental brooch construction



July 20, 1937. Q F, PLACCQ 2,087,331

ORNAMENTAL BROOCH CONSTRUCT ION Filed April 19, 1935 If? vena?? @0a/V @7560- Patented July 2U, 1937 QRNAMENTAL BRCH CONSTRUCTIUN Application April 19, 1935, Serial No. 17,251

3 Claims.

My present invention relates to improvements in brooches, and similar articles of jewelry such as lockets, shoe buckles, and the like, and has particular reference to a novel construction which facilitates the use of the brooch as a complete article, and the independent use of different parts of the brooch.

Brooch arrangements have been provided, formed with a plurality of separate ornaments, each ornament being a unit capable of separate, independent use.

It is the principal object of my invention to improve the construction of such brooch arrangements, whereby the ornaments are securely locked against accidental separation when in assembled relation, although readily intentionally separable for independent use.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a lock arrangement which is not evident upon ordinary inspection, whereby the ornaments appear complete whenever used separately.

With the above and other objects and ad- Vantageous features in view, my invention consists of a novel arrangement of parts more fully disclosed in the detailed description following, in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, and more specifically dened in the claims appended thereto.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the brooch arrangement, the ornaments being in assembled relation;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, the ornamental top being broken away;

Fig. 3 is a rear view of one ornament, the clamp being in open position;

Fig. 4 is a view of the novel lock plate;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a modified construction;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5, the ornamental top being broken away;

Fig. '7 is a rear view of one ornament of the modified construction;

Fig. 7d is a section thereof on the line 'la-lai; and

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the lock plate for the modified construction.

Referring to the drawing, an ornamental assembly lll is provided, see Fig. 1, which consists of two ornaments li, l2 and a lock plate i3. Each ornament is preferably of metal, with an ornamental surface, the back being provided with a clamp lll hingedly secured thereto, and spring urged to closed position in any suitable manner, preferably by a coil spring l5 positioned in a slot i6 of the clamp and secured to the clamp and the back of the ornament. The mounting of the spring in the slot permits the clamp to be spring held in both closed and completely open position, due to positioning of the hinge above the surface. The clamp has the usual lock teeth il, and the back of the ornament is recessed as at i8, to provide an undercut corner for receiving the edge of the lock plate It. The lock plate i3 is preferably formed as a metal stamping, having corners 2Q, 2l adapted to be received in the ornament undercut corners, and laterally adjacent spaces 22, 23 for receiving the clamps of the two ornaments; the end of the lock plate is provided with openings 2d, 25 for receiving the lock teeth Il. The lock plate is positioned with respect to the ornaments by the undercut corners, and is locked in place by the clamps, which pass through the spaces 22, 23 and overlie the lock plate, the teeth l'l seating in the openings 2Q, 25 to complete the positioning and the locking. A clamp 26 is hingedly mounted at the edge of the lock plate, and is spring urged to closing position by means of a coil spring 21 seated in a Yslot 28 and attached to the clamp and lock plate.

The novel construction thus comprises a lock plate which is formed to receive a plurality of laterally adjacent ornaments, each of which are independently usable, as each is provided with an individual clamp. The construction may be extended to accommodate as many ornaments as desired, thus permitting the use of any desired number of individual ornaments.

If a more positive lock is required, the ornaments may be formed as indicated at 36 in Figs. 5 and 7, each having a spring urged clamp 3|, the ornament in addition having a lock button 32 projecting from the back thereof. The lock plate 33, see Figs. 6 and 8, is in general similar in form to the lock plate i3, but has a cross bar 34 with projecting tabs 35, 36, each having a slot 3l and a snap opening 38, whereby the lock buttons 32 may snap through the openings 38 to provide a second lock supplementing the lock formed by the overlying of clamps 3| on the lock plate.

While I have described specic constructional embodiments of my invention, it is obvious that desired changes in the size, the proportions, and the material of the parts may be made to suit the requirements for different designs, within the spirit and the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an ornamental assemblage, a plurality lock plate in lateral adjacency.

2. In an ornamental assemblage, a plurality of ornaments, clamps on said ornaments, a lock plate having a clamp, and having laterally positioned openings adapted to removably receive said `ornament clamps in adjacent parallel relation,

said lock plate and said ornaments having cooperating detachably securable aligning members comprising a latch and a spring catch, whereby said ornaments may be detachably secured to said lock plate in lateral adjacency. 3. In an ornamental assemblage, a plurality of ornaments, clamps on said ornaments, a lock plate having a clamp, and having laterally positioned openings adapted to removably receive said ornament clamps in adjacent parallel relation, said lock plate and said ornaments having cooperating detachably securable aligning members comprising a latch on each ornament and a cooperating spring catch on the lock plate, whereby said ornaments may be detachably secured to said lock plate in lateral adjacency.

OSCAR FRANK PLACCO. 

